InSPIRE-ing Prague

It is known as the city of a hundred spires, for on its skyline are majestic spires all racing, seemingly, to pierce the sun. It is a canvass of Gothic towers, characterized by slim and ornate spires and steeples, and onion-shaped Baroque domes that seize the glow of the sun. Thus, Prague, the capital of the fairly young Czech Republic, is also known as the Golden City.

Imagine that silhouette — splendid spires that zigzag across the sky and golden domes nestling in between.

But Prague isn’t all about Gothic   skyscrapers and golden domes. It is a city of castles and centuries-old squares, dark legends and illuminating stories of faith. It also boasts an adult version of Belgium’s Manneken Pis — where a mechanical mannequin relieves himself al fresco!

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My husband Ed, son Chino and I visited Prague as part of a Globus tour of Central and Eastern Europe and discovered a storybook city whose architecture stubbornly resists the onslaught of facelifts (which makes me weep for all of Manila’s old buildings that were torn down), except for a few modern buildings like the Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire “dancing” glass building.

In Prague’s storybook setting, you can easily weave stories of princes and princesses, witches and goblins. In fact, Prague is known as one of the three centers of Black Magic in Europe, the other two being Lyon and Turin.

Prague’s allure is its age, the older it gets, the more beautiful it becomes. Time is Prague’s best friend. It traces some of its buildings to the Middle Ages, and a thousand years later, they continue to mock time and blend beautifully with monuments from other epochs. Yes, the city is a storyteller.

Over 20 million tourists descend upon the Czech Republic, and its capital Prague, each year. It is also the birthplace of one of the most powerful women of the 21st century, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the famous writer Franz Kafka, who once said of it, “(Prague) is the mother of cities, which will sink its claws into you and never let you go.”

For Filipino Catholics, a trip to Prague is not complete without a visit to the Our Lady of Victorious  Church, about 15 minutes away from the square. It is the home of the Sto. Niño de Praga, to whom many miracles is attributed.

Prague is also the home of the finest Bohemian crystal (Prague is the capital of Bohemia, which is home to some six million of the Czech Republic’s 10.3 million people) and glassware. The chandeliers in Malacañang Palace are said to be from the old Czechoslovakia. (So if you’re ready to hand carry these Bohemian crystal rhapsodies, buy them in Prague. You can get a tax refund for them at the airport).

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Get your own

Aside from the Sto. Niño of Prague, what else are must-sees in this city, where you don’t want to close your eyes for fear of missing a photo op?

1. The Old Town Hall with the famous Prague Astronomical Clock.

2. The winding lanes of the Jewish Quarter, which you know from the novels of Franz Kafka, steeped in the legend of the Golem. By the curbside are bronze markers the size of your palm with the names of Jews who used to live in the area and perished during the Holocaust. In Vienna, these markers are called “stumbling blocks,” because you stumble on them when you walk, you pause and ponder on their heart-rending stories.

3. The Gothic Charles Bridge, many who have experienced it say there is no more romantic place than Charles Bridge at sunrise.  Jetlagged, we visited it at dusk and still found it as picturesque, with its centuries-old statues, all 30 of them (some originals have been transferred to museums) lining the stone bridge, which was built in the 14th Century.

4. Prague Castle, which according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the largest medieval castle in the world.

5. Within the Prague Castle is the Czech Republic’s biggest and most important Church, the St. Vitus Cathedral, built in the year 930 and reconstructed in 1344. Though practice of the Catholic faith was not encouraged during the communist time in the former Czechoslovakia, Catholic Masses are celebrated here regularly now. (Our guide says most Czechs are “agnostics” and few practice the Catholic faith.)

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One of my most memorable experiences in Prague was “inspiring” in every sense of the word. I refused to leave Prague without visiting the Child Jesus, but the church where it is was not in the vicinity of the Old Town Square. The map wasn’t much help to me either. A round trip in a cab would have cost about 22 Euros for a few minutes’ stay.

As I was pondering the best way to go to church of the Our Lady of the Victorious, lo and behold, a tourist electric golf cart suddenly stopped in front of the restaurant where we were having lunch. It was the first time I had seen it in the entire time I was ogling the buildings and shops on the square.

And on its windshield was the name of the district where the Sto. Niño was, the Mala Strata.

And so for only 15 Euros round trip, with my husband and I as its only passengers, the lady golf cart driver took us to the Sto. Niño de Praga.

“You can  stay as long as you want,” the pretty Czech told us. After 15 minutes, when we returned to the golf cart, I thanked her profusely.  “My pleasure,” she smiled, then added proudly. “I am also Catholic.”

(For more information, please call Baron Travel at 817-4926 or e-mail btcftd@barontravel.com.ph and ftd@barontravel.com.ph.)

(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com.)